Season of Migration to the East – Ammar Khalifa

‘Season of Migration to the East’, was Ammar Khalif’s first solo exhibition. This exhibition will featured a series of paintings.

In our modern condition of multi-cultural imports, increased ethnological hybridity and globalised integration, Ammar Khalifa spurs a process of questioning on the identities and illusionary boundaries — a search for heterotopia.

The relevance of post-colonial attitudes is dismissed for a more progressive reflection into behavioural patterns that shape the way one relates to one’s own image. The artist challenges the condition that orthodox beliefs, formed and shaped by our ancestral customs, define our intrinsic selves. Inspired by Tayeb Salih’s seminal literary work ‘Season of Migration to the North’, the aesthetic expressions of cross-colonial references embrace themes such as migration versus home, belonging versus estrangement and exile versus assimilation.

This series of figuratively abstract yet personal body of work is an attempt to posit an alternate view on these said issues about the state of being in transit, our sense of belonging and the construction of identity.

(Text by Farida M)

Ammar Khalifa (b. 1986), Sudanese by nationality, was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Since December 2012, Ammar has been residing in Georgetown, Penang; works as a freelance artist, illustrator, graphic designer and animator. Ammar’s visual aesthetic is inspired by both traditional Islamic calligraphy and contemporary visual style. He has a distinctive visual language, which focuses on nuanced appreciation of the human figure, enlivened through his sanguine brushwork and bold choice of colour palette. Many of his artworks are brim with evocative shades and subtle provocation, tied together with narrative warmth. Ammar has participated in several group exhibitions; ‘Season of Migration to the East’ is his first solo exhibition.